“Gender did not really play a role in my choice of career, but I realized quite early that economic independence was the key to emancipation” said Manjari Balu, in an interesting IWI Debate we had last Friday. We were celebrating Women in Finance all of February at IWI. Prof. Thenmozhi from IIT Madras, Sheetal Sharad, VP, A Leading Ratings Agency and Manjari Balu, Founder, Econfinity were part of the February edition of The IWI Debate, hosted by Dipankar Mukherjee. We spoke about their best career moments, challenges at work and how they ended up doing what they are doing now. And we spoke about money and its prospects in different forms – bitcoins, Fixed deposits, cash, real estate, gold. So yeah, if someone is telling you not to invest in gold, you got to tell them it provides inflation protection and you are planning to have a small portion invested there! In case you missed this session, you can catch up here

So how has COVID impacted the markets?

COVID has impacted corporates and households alike. Recovery will take time. Lot of the bull run we are seeing now is because of liquidity in the market. The COVID period has seen a rise in new individual investors in stock markets and they have invested significant amount of money. Interest rates have come down so low that they do not even matching inflation. This has caused investors to move to investing in stock market and gold. Spending has come down, people only spend on essentials and save the rest.

And here are some financial tips that the ladies had for us. All gems, don’t you think?

Be aware of what you have, and what you want to do with it. Work with a goal of what is required.

Spend smartly. Keep track of your investments.

Understand the power of compounding and how money is going to grow

Calculate the opportunity cost of the investment.

Cash by itself is not safe.

Keep investment in gold a small portion of your portfolio.

There should be no emotions in investing.

Be aware of investments made in the family, KYC norms and nominate people for your investments.

Everyone’s financial needs and goals are different. Do not succumb to peer pressure when it comes to investment.

Do not put all your investments in one basket. Diversify.

Take care of your health

Don’t underestimate the importance of insurance. 

And what should women know about finances?

Well, financial planning is one place where ignorance is not bliss. Women need to know where the investments in the family reside, possibly engage in financial planning with the partner, spend smart and be aware of processes like KYC and nominations.

Thank You for joining us, Prof Thenmozhi, Sheetal Sharad and Manjari Balu. We are certain The IWI community has greatly benefited from this discussion. All the best for a shining career and many more memorable moments in career and in life!